Feeling trapped? 5 steps toward an alternative career

Happy New Year? Is an alternative career in the cards for you in 2010? If just one of the following is buzzing in your brain, you may be ready begin the 5 Steps Toward an Alternative Career:

I knew when I came to law school that I did not want to practice law.
I am a 1L/2L/3L/4L.
I have never worked and now I want an alternative career.
I am graduating and I want an alternative career.
There are no jobs, and I want an alternative career.
I have been practicing for (1 week to 20 years) and I want an alternative career.
I hate (private/corporate/public interest/government) practice.
I hate my job.
Writing makes me crazy.
Deadlines drive me nuts.
I hate being around lawyers.
I hated moot court and do not want to litigate.
Law practice is not fun (anymore).
I hate arguing over nothing.
I hate my life.

Beginning an alternative career search is easy: announce it to your friends, family, and trusted co-workers. Trusted is the key word. Outward signs of unhappiness can give your employer the chance to let you conduct a full-time alternative career search.

Making a search work is complicated. It is deeply individual and personal to you. There is no magic bullet or on campus interview. What is alternative for a lawyer is someone traditional for someone else, so there is no Job Monster Board for Alternative Legal Careers.

You are not alone, and there are resources for you. Among them are Deborah Aaron’s What Can You Do With A Law Degree?, George Cain’s Turning Points – New Paths and Second Careers for Lawyers, (especially good for very experienced lawyers), and the alternative career materials on the NALP website. Your undergrad and law school career offices, alumni office, professional associations, and the connections you build through social networking sites will be important resources throughout your search.

The Five Steps in an Alternative Career Search are below, and I will address them more completely in future postings:

Self-assessment. You, and only you, can decide what you really want to do with your life. Connect to basic assessment tools through your law school or undergraduate career office. Be prepared to look at every part of your life including your personality, skills, interests and financial position. If your family and friends are invested financially or psychologically in your legal career, be prepared to campaign for their support for a major change.

Research. What do other people do all day? As a lawyer, you read, write, talk on the phone, and go to meetings. When was the last time you considered another career? Because the only lawyers who understand what non-lawyers do are in Workers Comp practices, you may need to combine the broad perspective of an undergrad career office with the nuanced legal alternative career information in your law school career office. You will also have to use your technical research skills on this project.

Purposeful and serendipitous networking. Combining research and networking to learn about potential career paths can create powerful momentum. Best opening line: I have read a lot about X and I have some questions for you. Worst opening line: Tell me everything you know about X.

Patience. Expect a barbecue-like long and slow process, not a ramen noodles quick-fix career shift. Expecting a rapid and dramatic career shift is magical thinking.

Value transferable skills for the non-lawyer market. Having identified the job that you want, do not be discouraged when the applicant pool is full of people with the precise credentials and experience listed in the job posting. A successful alternative career candidate can connect legal skills and experience to the new job by describing his work in terms that make sense to a non-legal employer and that show legal training as a value-added bonus.

Thursday:Step 1: Self-assessment for alternative careers
Friday: Step 2: Smart research for alternative careers
Monday: Step 3: Purposeful and serendipitous networking for alternative careers
Tuesday: Step 4: Patience -- A barbecue-not-ramen-noodles schedule for alternative career shift
Wednesday:Step 5: Value your transferable skills for the non-lawyer market